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ADHD Emotional Regulation | Blog

The 4 Best Ways to Tackle Boring Work When You Have ADHD
ByMarla Cummins August 16, 2017 ADHD Emotional Regulation, Blog

Are you ever in a meeting or talking to someone 1-1 and just zone out, missing what they were saying? And, when you realize this, you’re at a loss as to how to find out what you missed. Then maybe you are angry at the person for going on so long or embarrassed you didn’t pay attention. Other times, when you’re working solo on a work or home project, do you find yourself so far off course from your original intention with no idea how you got there? Maybe even hours have passed since you started down the rabbit hole. Then there are the times you feel an incredible sense of restlessness, but can’t decide what to do. So, maybe you end up flitting…

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ADHD Tools & Strategies | Blog

Stop Being Overwhelmed by Your To-Do List. Use These 6 Tips
ByMarla Cummins August 4, 2017 ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

The wrong kind of task list can overwhelm adults with ADHD, rather than helping them. How about you? Do you have a task list? Is it helping you follow through? As is true for many of my clients when I first start working with them, you may have several lists — a sticky over here, a piece of paper over there, notes from your last meeting, etc. In the moment, you think writing it down somewhere — anywhere — will help you remember to do it, right? But are your lists helping you execute? If you are not following through on many of your tasks, your list(s) might be partly to blame. And you might have so many open loops it is making your head…

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ADHD in the Workplace | Blog

Are You Allowing Interruptions at Work to Run Your Day?
ByMarla Cummins July 20, 2017July 7, 2025 ADHD in the Workplace, Blog

You’re in the middle of working on a report at work, and one of your colleagues comes into your office and launches into a conversation. Then you get back to work and see emails piling up in your inbox you feel you need to respond to right away. Happens, right? Yet, you may get frustrated or even angry when you have to stop and switch gears. While interruptions can be annoying, for sure, you may wonder why you respond the way you do. Read on to learn why interruptions may be so frustrating for you and what you can do to manage them. Why Interruptions at Work Are a Challenge for ADHD Adults First, it is important to understand that transitions — stopping, starting, and…

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ADHD Emotional Regulation | Blog

Are Your Emotions Steering Your Life? Time to Take Back The Wheel!
ByMarla Cummins July 19, 2017 ADHD Emotional Regulation, Blog

Think back to the last time you did something when you felt angry, hurt or frustrated and later thought, “I wish I wouldn’t have done that!!” If you have ever thought that, it may be, like many Adults with ADHD, you have difficulty regulating your emotions. It is not that you have different feelings than others or that your feelings are wrong. Rather, the challenge for you is that because of your ADHD you may get triggered quickly, stew for long periods of time and act on your feelings before you’ve had a chance to think. Sure, feelings are feelings. But you don’t need to let them run the show, right? If you want, you can learn how to decrease the number of times you…

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ADHD Tools & Strategies | Blog

How ADHD Adults Fix Their Love-Hate Relationship with Routines
ByMarla Cummins July 10, 2017June 18, 2025 ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

You’ve probably heard time and time again that adding structure to your life can help you manage your ADHD and keep you from floundering — doing whatever catches your attention in the moment. It’s true. Yet, if you are like many adults with ADHD, when you think of adding structure to your life you probably think, “I definitely need to do that! And I’ve tried… It just always seems to fall part.” So, you resist doing so because, well, it is just too hard and never seems to work. And you continue to waver between wanting structure and resisting it. Makes sense. Read on below to learn more about structure and how you can successfully add just enough to help you work with your…

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ADHD Emotional Regulation | Blog

How ADHD Adults Bring Their Boldest Self To Life’s Challenges
ByMarla Cummins May 5, 2017December 5, 2025 ADHD Emotional Regulation, Blog

As I was recently reading Amy Cuddy’s book, Presence: Bring Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges it struck me (again) how much adults with ADHD benefit from learning to be present in the critical moments of their lives. I also know just how hard it is for ADHD Adults to do so… But, while learning to be present may not come easily, because it can really enrich our lives in many ways, some of which I explore below, I think it is worth the time and effort to do so. You may also come to the same conclusion as you read on. And, while there is much to take away from Cuddy’s book, since I am writing for you, an Adult with ADHD,…

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Blog

How to Prioritize When You Feel You Have To Do Everything Now!
ByMarla Cummins April 7, 2017June 15, 2025 Blog

One of the challenges for Adults with ADHD is deciding what to do at any given moment. And, if this is one of your challenges, you may make these decisions based on what feels important. But, when everything feels important right now, it can feel impossible to decide. Of course, while you want to pay attention to your instinct, as it may point you in the right direction, relying just on your feelings to drive your decisions in the moment is risky business for Adults with ADHD. To make it easier to make decisions in the moment: decide what is essential to you — your priorities — in advance. decide in advance what activities / tasks will help you succeed in doing what is important…

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Blog

Is Too Much Planning Getting in the Way of Managing Your ADHD?
ByMarla Cummins March 23, 2017 Blog

In my last post I introduced you to the Stages of Change Model and shared strategies for preparing to create effective change — Stage 3. If you haven’t read that post yet, take a few minutes to read it, and then come back here. Ok, ready? When you have prepared enough, which will look different for everyone, you are ready to put your plans into action — Stage 4. And this time of action can be exciting and hopeful, as well as frustrating. Frustrating because you will almost certainly encounter bumps in the road — bumps you may or may not have been able to anticipate. Seeing your journey as a series of experiments and being willing to approach these experiments as a beginner will…

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ADHD Tools & Strategies | Blog

Have ADHD and Want To Create Lasting Change? Do This First
ByMarla Cummins March 10, 2017 ADHD Tools & Strategies, Blog

Do you often wonder, how ADHD adults can make lasting changes stick?“ Maybe you question whether your life is always going to be “this” way because of your ADHD? The simple answer is, “Yes, you can.” The more complicated and honest answer is, “Well, it really depends on whether you think you currently have the bandwidth to put in the necessary time and energy.” Read on to see what steps you could take to start taking charge of your ADHD. Then you can decide whether you are ready to make the changes you envision. Understanding How Change Happens Can Help You Persist You already know that change is not easy. Yet, when a strategy does not work for you right away, do you sometimes get…

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Blog

Want to Be Productive? Then It’s Time to Ditch Your To Do List!
ByMarla Cummins February 10, 2017 Blog

Ok, well, don’t ditch you task list entirely. But creating a task list for ADHD adults is, well, tricky. You definitely need a way to see and manage your tasks. Because, when you are using it the right way, your list can help you do what is important to you. And, of course, that’s what you want. But, if your list isn’t optimized, it may be hindering your productivity. Ready to figure out how make a task list that will help you be truly productive? What Does It Mean To You To Be Productive? Some people feel ok about how much they get done in a day. And others feel constantly under siege. How about you? How you feel lies in part in how you answer…

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